


The Choice

by GenKay



Category: Cobra Kai (Web Series)
Genre: Cliffhangers, Father-Son Relationship, Fix-It of Sorts, Gen, Jealousy, Self-Esteem Issues, Teacher-Student Relationship, Unhappy Ending
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-04
Updated: 2020-07-04
Packaged: 2021-03-05 01:48:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,088
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25076383
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GenKay/pseuds/GenKay
Summary: Robby or Miguel – that’s what it came down to. In the end, he had to choose one of them and no matter who he chose, he’d be hurting the other.
Comments: 28
Kudos: 24





	The Choice

**Author's Note:**

> Season 2 finale AU. Tory never sees Sam and Miguel kissing and there is no school fight.

“How was your first day back to school?” Johnny asked, tentatively. That was a safe topic, right?

“Fine.” Robby shrugged in reply. “Pretty good actually.”

“Good. That’s good.” Johnny smiled and nodded. “You didn’t get in any trouble, did you?”

“Because I’m such a screwup who can’t go a day without messing up?” Robby raised his eyebrows.

_Shit. Wrong step right away._

“Robby. That’s not what I-”

“Relax, Dad.” Robby smirked. “I’m just messing with you. Yeah, it’d have been humiliating starting the grade over at my old school and I’m sure someone would’ve said something and I’d have gotten into a fight – but that’s the good thing about starting over here. No one here knows me except for my friends.”

Johnny nodded, giving Robby a hesitant smile. It couldn’t be helped after all – Robby had missed out on most of the school year. If Johnny had acted sooner, tried harder… maybe that wouldn’t have changed anything. He never could get through to Robby – not like LaRusso managed to.

But that didn’t matter anymore. Or atleast, it shouldn’t. Things were finally going right between them, so who cared how they got there? This was the day Johnny had been waiting for – hoping for – all these years. The day the two of them could finally be on the same page and start over. 

He’d screwed up badly when it came to Robby. He’d thought he was doing the right thing by staying away. He’d been a mess – drunk most of the times, angry at everything, yelling and snapping at everyone. He’d decided that Robby didn’t need that shit in his life, that he wasn’t going to make Robby’s life miserable like Sid had done to him. Better to have no father at all than having a miserable old bastard degrading you at every turn.

But that hadn’t mattered. Shannon had managed to screw Robby up anyway and by the time Johnny had realized that, his son had been too angry to let him try and fix things. He should never have stayed away, he should’ve tried harder, tried sooner and for a while, it’d felt like he had wasted his final chance without even knowing about it. But here they were – with Robby finally getting over his anger and willing to give his dad another chance and Johnny finally worthy of making good use of it.

He still had to be careful, though. He had a long history of saying and doing the wrong thing and getting Robby pissed at him. And he’d have to be especially careful about how he talked about LaRusso.

“I’m glad you have friends. Even if they are from Miyagi-Do.” Johnny gave his son a small smile to let him know he was just joking. “About that – you… uh… talk to the girl today?”

“Sam? Yeah.” Robby nodded. “Mr. LaRusso is still angry and she is grounded for like a thousand years but things are okay between us. Atleast now things are out in the open and we don’t have to hide anymore.”

Johnny nodded hesitatingly. He wasn’t sure how he felt about Robby dating _that_ girl. He knew she’d been with Miguel before and that she’d broken his heart. And she’d gotten Robby in trouble the other night. Not to mention, there was the car accident and the debatable company she kept. But he was in no position to comment on Robby’s love life – atleast, not right now.

“Speaking of…” Robby continued. “I need you to take me to the LaRussos’. I still have all my stuff there and I really should apologize to him in person.”

“Apologize?” Johnny frowned. “Robby, you are not the one who should be apologizing here.”

 _LaRusso is the one who should be begging for your forgiveness,_ Johnny almost said. _The way he talked to you…_

Daniel LaRusso was a sanctimonious, judgmental asshole. There was no room for mistakes in his world – no margin of error to allow for kids screwing up. He judged you on all your worst mistakes instead of all the good that you did and once he made up his mind about you, that’s just who you were. People simply weren’t capable of change in his world.

…But Robby wasn’t ready to hear all that. To him, LaRusso was still the great guy who had helped him out and he could do no wrong. And Johnny knew from personal experience how hard it could be to acknowledge a flaw in someone you admired.

“He trusted me and I betrayed his trust.” Robby was shaking his head. “He expected me to take care of Sam and I…”

Johnny couldn’t let that stand – he couldn’t let Robby feel that way.

“Okay, first of all, that’s too much to put on you. You are not responsible for LaRusso’s kid, alright?” He said. “And second – you did take care of her. She got drunk and that’s on her, but instead of doing something dumb like taking advantage of her, you brought her here to sleep it off. You did the smart thing and LaRusso overreacted way too much.”

He saw Robby frown at the criticism and quickly backtracked.

“Look, I’m not dissing LaRusso here.” He clarified. “He is a dad and he was worried. He gets to overreact every now and then. But that’s still his mistake. He’s the one who needs to calm down and apologize to you – not the other way around. You did nothing wrong.”

Robby tried to hide it, but Johnny could see him look happier at that. But the kid was as stubborn as… as Johnny himself.

“It doesn’t matter who’s in the wrong here.” He said. “I can apologize and we can just put this behind us and get things back to normal again – that would be worth it.”

_But what about your pride? If you do this, LaRusso will have all the power over you. He will know that he can get away with treating you like shit any time he wants._

Johnny refrained from voicing his thoughts again. No doubt, Robby would see this as him trying to drive a wedge between him and his mentor and that would lead to another fight. Besides, maybe he was right. Johnny had always held on to his pride as something precious. He had made it a habit of never apologizing even when he knew he was in the wrong. And that had messed up every relationship in his life. Maybe Robby was being smarter than him by focusing on what mattered instead of stroking his ego.

“I’ll be alright.” Robby said, more to himself than Johnny. “Mr. LaRusso will forgive me. I know he will. He’ll let me come back and I’ll be out of your hair soon.”

 _Out of my…?_ “What?”

“I’m just saying – he’ll let me move back in and you won’t have to put up with me much longer.” Robby explained with a reassuring smile.

_Does he think I don’t want him here? Why would he think that?_

_Well, did you ever give him a reason to think otherwise?_

“Robby, I’m not putting up with you.” Johnny said, quickly. “I want you here. I want you to live with me.”

Robby frowned at that. It seemed like he was about to say something before he stopped himself and changed his mind.

“We can talk about that later.” He said, uncomfortably. “We always end up fighting and I don’t have the stomach for that right now.”

“No. We are talking about this.” Johnny shook his head firmly. “Look, I don’t wanna fight you either – but I can’t have you thinking that I don’t want you around. That’s the thing I want most in the world – to have you with me. In everything.”

Robby looked at him skeptically with a stubborn set of the jaw.

“I’m not quitting Miyagi-Do.” He said with narrowed eyes. “And even if Mr. LaRusso kicks me out, I’m not joining Cobra Kai.”

“Cobra Kai has changed.” Johnny said. “I’ve changed it – and I’m still changing it.”

“Maybe – but I’m still not joining.” Robby said, stubbornly. “I’m not trying to hurt you, alright? Maybe that’s how it started, but Miyagi-Do really helped me get my life straight. I wouldn’t be here otherwise and there is a lot more I have to learn. So even if Mr. LaRusso kicks me out, I’ll still keep asking him to let me back in and I know that won’t happen if I join Cobra Kai. So even if I come to live with you, I’ll still be training with him.”

Johnny stared at him in consternation. It was that important to him? Being a Miyagi-Do? He sounded like… like Johnny used to with Cobra-Kai. With Kreese. And he’d never had the heart to join another dojo after being done with Kreese either. But whatever else Daniel was, he was definitely not Kreese and he had helped Robby get his shit together. Johnny might not like the guy, but that was one reason to be thankful to him.

“Alright.” Johnny said. “You can stay with me and train with LaRusso. Even work for him, if you want. You can stay here and train at Miyagi-Do like all the other kids do.”

“Really?” Robby looked at him suspiciously. “You are okay with that?”

“Yeah.” Johnny replied.

“And I won’t get any shit from you about it?” Robby continued. “No ‘why am I siding with the enemy?’ Or ‘how does it look to people that even your own son doesn’t join your dojo?’ Or ‘I’m forcing you to pick between me and your students.’ You are not going to give me any of that?”

“I won’t.” Johnny agreed. “Look – I’m not exactly happy about it. I hope that you will change your mind. And if you do, Cobra Kai will still be here, waiting for you. But this is about what you need. And what you need, comes first.”

“Since when?” Robby scoffed.

Johnny blinked. Was he trying to pick a fight or did he really think that? That Johnny was incapable of putting his son first?

“I always tried to put you first.” Johnny explained. “I know I screwed up– a lot. But I always wanted to do right by you.”

“Like at the Valleyfest?” Robby said sourly. “That show was important to me. I was trying to show Mr. LaRusso that he could count on me. And you messed that up for me.”

“That wasn’t about you.” Johnny said defensively. “That was payback against Miyagi-Do.”

“That’s my point.” Robby was getting angry now. “You always put other stuff ahead of me. Whether it’s Cobra Kai or your student or your rivalry with Mr. LaRusso – you’ve always cared more about that. Why should I expect things to be different going forward?”

Johnny was speechless. What could he say to that? Had he been fooling himself all this time by telling himself that he would’ve put Robby first given half a chance?

No – this wasn’t his fault. Robby had been the one to push him away. To put himself between Johnny and LaRusso. How was Johnny supposed to know what was important to him if Robby never told him?

“I didn’t even know you were going to be there at the Valleyfest.” Johnny explained. “I didn’t know how important this stuff was for you. Maybe if you’d come to me for help once in a while instead of going to LaRusso - ”

“I didn’t go to him. He offered.” Robby replied. “He offered to teach me karate and he didn’t even know that I was your son back then. He was really pissed off when he found out the truth that night – but then he helped me out at the tournament anyway. And I didn’t ask to move in with him either. That was his idea too.”

Robby still didn’t see it – the real reason behind all of LaRusso’s actions.

“He did all that to get back at me.” Johnny said.

“He’s not like that.” Robby replied defensively. “He always told me to make things right with you. He always tried to keep his issues with you separate from how thing were between us.”

Could that be right? But Johnny had been so sure. So certain about LaRusso’s motives. He had let it go because ultimately, it had been good for Robby. He could tolerate being humiliated by LaRusso’s petty schemes to steal his son if it meant that Robby got to have a better life. But maybe he had been the one to misjudge LaRusso. Maybe it wasn’t about him after all. Maybe it really was about Robby and what he needed – as it should’ve been.

“He never tried to come between us. He was just there for me.” Robby continued. “I was all alone at the tournament, miserable that no one gave a shit about my broken shoulder and he just came to me, telling me that I didn’t need to fight if I couldn’t. And later, when he saw how I was living…”

“What does that mean?” Johnny asked, his heart sinking at all the information.

“Y’know, alone.” Robby shrugged, like it was no big deal. “Mom left with some guy and forgot to pay the bills. They cut off the power after a while and I was running out of food. Mr. LaRusso just came to check up on me and when he saw that he just told me to move in with them.”

“H-how long…?” Johnny choked on the words before clearing his throat. “How long were you on your own?”

“A few weeks, I guess.” Robby replied.

_A few weeks? You were all alone for a few weeks, living without electricity and with food running out and I didn’t know about it? You were lost and miserable and you didn’t even feel like you could come to me for help?_

_“Somebody needs to be there for him.”_ That’s what LaRusso had told him at the tournament and he’d meant that. And only that. This wasn’t about getting back at Johnny – it was about being there for Robby. Daniel was and Johnny wasn’t. And he had no one else to blame for that.

_I should’ve done more. Paid closer attention. I should’ve gone to him during the tournament. I should’ve checked in on him. I knew what Shannon was like and I should’ve kept a closer eye on things. I failed him in ways I didn’t even realize I was failing him._

“I’m sorry.” That was all Johnny could say. “I should’ve… I’m really sorry.”

Robby looked at him, half-angry, half-sympathetic.

“It wasn’t your fault.” He said. “I know I didn’t exactly make it easy for you to be around me. My point is… this is just how things are between us. No reason to fight about it.”

Johnny nodded. No reason to fight, right? But there was nothing to fight about here anymore. They could finally be on the same page.

“It wasn’t your fault.” Johnny said softly. “None of it. You are right about it all. I screwed up. I didn’t mean to, but I did.”

Robby looked at him, skeptically, waiting for him to go on.

“Look – I’ve been a crappy dad to you. Always.” Johnny continued. “I could make a thousand excuses for why I was that way, but none of that would change the fact that I was a bad father. I wasn’t there for you when you needed me and LaRusso was and – and I’m grateful to him for that much.”

“But…?” Robby asked.

“No buts.” Johnny replied. “I can’t change the past and I can’t make you feel any different about it. And you shouldn’t. All I can do right now is do a better job of being your dad. And that starts with not messing what’s going right with you okay? So if training with Miyagi-Do is what you need, I’m not gonna get in the way of that. All I want here is a chance to make things right. And I think… I think living with me would be good for the both of us.”

Robby nodded slowly, considering his words.

 _This is the first real talk I’ve had with him in years,_ Johnny realized. It was probably the longest, most honest talk he’d had with his son in his whole life. How fucked up was that? Sixteen years and he’d never even bothered to have a heart-to-heart with the person he was supposed to love the most in his life.

“I need to talk to Mr. LaRusso about this.” Robby said, uncertainly.

Johnny nodded. He deserved that. After everything, he couldn’t just expect Robby to trust him right away. To just forget the past and start over like nothing had happened.

No - it was actually better than he deserved. He wouldn’t have blamed him if Robby had laughed and thrown his offer in his face. Sure, everybody deserved a second chance, but Johnny had probably wasted his years ago. But Robby was giving him another chance anyway and he was determined not to waste it this time.

“You want some help talking to Larusso?” Johnny offered. “With apologizing, I mean.”

Robby looked at him quizzically.

“I could take some of the blame.” Johnny explained. “I was the adult there. I should’ve called LaRusso and told him his daughter was here right away. He wouldn’t have gotten that freaked out had he known. I could tell him that. Might take some of the heat off you.”

“Like he doesn’t hate you enough already.” Robby laughed.

“That’s the point. He already hates me. A little more won’t make a difference.” Johnny suggested. “But that might help you out.”

Robby shook his head. “No. I have to take responsibility to my - ”

A loud knock on the door interrupted him and Johnny sighed. He wasn’t expecting anyone, so there was only one person who’d show up on his door like this.

* * *

Sure enough, it was Miguel.

“Sensei, I need to talk to you about something.” He said as soon as the door was open.

The voice message. Right. Johnny had listened to it but dealing with this stuff with Robby was more important right now. Miguel and his girl-drama could wait.

“I’m kinda in the middle of something.” Johnny said regretfully and moved aside to let Miguel see Robby.

“Oh… Hey, Robby.” Miguel seemed surprised to see him. And a moment later… guilty?

“Hey.” Robby replied evenly. “It’s fine. We were done anyway.”

Johnny looked at him worried. _Another test?_ Was Robby trying to see whether he could turn Miguel away for his sake? Robby was jealous of Miguel – Johnny could see that much. And he had given him every reason to be.

“Really dad. It’s okay.” Robby said reassuringly. He must have seen the hesitation on Johnny’s face. “I should be getting to Mr. LaRusso’s anyway.”

Johnny nodded in agreement. “Just go inside for a while.” He told him. “I’ll drive you over once we are done.”

“Uh… Sensei, it’s okay. We can do this later.” Miguel said, looking at the floor. “It’s better if we talk in private anyway.”

Johnny found himself getting frustrated. These boys and their stupid rivalry – they were worse than he and LaRusso ever were. If only they could just learn to get along.

“Dad, it’s fine.” Robby said, getting up. “I need to do this on my own anyway. And I can find my way there.”

What could he say after that? After Robby had given him an out like that. He didn’t want to turn Miguel away – not after Robby had given him every reason not to. How would the kid feel if he did that? But at the same time, letting Robby walk out of there alone felt like he’d be making the same mistake all over again.

“Hey Robby.” Johnny said, thinking of something. “How about you take my car? Better than walking all the way there.”

“Really?” Robby looked genuinely surprised at the offer.

“Why not?” Johnny shrugged. “You know how to drive, right?”

That was a stupid question. Robby had been working at LaRusso Auto for months now, no doubt taking people on test-drives. He had to be a decent driver for that.

“You are letting him drive the Cobra-mobile?” Miguel said, incredulous. The envy was crystal clear in his voice. _You never let me drive,_ it said.

“It has a name?” Robby said, amused. “Thought you guys weren’t supposed to be dorks.”

“Look – if you don’t want to take the car…” Johnny started, annoyed.

“No, I want to.” Robby said, immediately holding his hand out for the keys.

Johnny gave him a stern look. “You treat her right, you hear me?”

Robby nodded, taking the keys and gave Miguel a last smug look before leaving. Johnny shook his head, exasperated. He’d have to talk to them both at some point. Especially once Robby moved in with him. But he’d figure that out later. Miguel had had almost his undivided attention for almost a year now – more than Robby had had his whole life. It was Robby’s turn now and Miguel would just have to get used to coming in second every now and then.

“So, you wanted to talk?” Johnny asked as soon as the door was closed.

“Is Robby living with you now?” Miguel asked, sounding concerned and still staring at the closed door.

“Maybe.” Johnny replied. “We are still figuring that out.”

Miguel nodded uncertainly and Johnny suppressed his annoyance. He’d have to figure out a way to deal with this, to navigate it carefully. He owed Miguel a lot and even though he had to be there for Robby now, he couldn’t abandon Miguel. The kid deserved better from him.

“Look, I told you already that I was trying to make things right with Robby.” Johnny said. “But that doesn’t change anything between us. You can still come to me for anything.”

Miguel nodded, more certain this time and sat down at the table and Johnny felt better about himself. He could do this. If need be, he could keep them separate and keep his promise to both the kids.

“So, you got some girl trouble?” He started light-heartedly. “I’m telling you man, get used to it. Chicks are nothing but a headache.”

“Well, girls are not the problem here.” Miguel said, uncomfortably.

The kid clearly had trouble knowing where to start, so Johnny decided to help him out.

“Something happen with Tory?” He nudged.

Miguel shook his head.

“There was this party the other night.” Miguel started hesitating. “And Sam was there…”

Johnny nodded, dreading where this was headed. That must have been the same party where that girl got drunk and Robby brought her to his house.

“And she kind of kissed me. I mean – we kissed.” Miguel said fumbling. “She was drunk and I stopped it right away. Like, almost right away. But I’m not sure what to do now.”

Johnny sighed. _Damn that girl._ He was beginning to think that she was the real enemy – not LaRusso. It was starting to look like everytime he was doing something right, she found a way to mess it up.

How could she do that to Robby? After all that he had been willing to do for her? Not to mention messing with Miguel’s head like that. She’d broken up with him, right? It’d broken his heart, but he was getting over it. Why couldn’t she let him be? Goddamn girls and their drama.

But atleast this problem had an easy solution.

“It probably didn’t mean anything. She was drunk, right?” Johnny waited for Miguel to nod in assent. “She didn’t know what she was doing. She probably doesn’t even remember doing it. Girls do that kind of shit when drunk.”

“But Sensei - ” Miguel started.

“But nothing.” Johnny said firmly, getting to the root of the problem. “And if you are thinking of telling Tory about it – don’t. Trust me – nothing good will come out of it. That kiss meant nothing and all you’ll do by telling Tory is start a cat-fight between the girls. And trust me – that’s not as hot as it sounds. Just make sure it doesn’t happen again and treat Tory right and you’ll be fine.”

Miguel pursed his lips uncertainly. _There is more to this,_ Johnny realized.

“The thing is, the kiss did mean something. Atleast to me.” Miguel confessed. “And I think I have to break up with Tory now.”

Okay - this was more complicated now. Johnny waited for Miguel to continue.

“I don’t think I’m being fair to Tory here – even though this was her idea.” Miguel went on. “She told me that I should get over Sam by getting together with someone else and I really thought I was getting over her. But when the kiss happened… and I just don’t think it’s fair to string Tory along any longer. Not if I’m never going to feel that way about her.”

Johnny nodded. Miguel was a good kid after all. Johnny didn’t know if he’d have had the strength to let a girl go like that. To pass up a certain thing just to be fair to her. He’d have rather stuck to the relationship, telling himself that what he felt was good enough instead of cutting his losses and daring to go for something better.

“Sounds like you’ve already made up your mind.” Johnny said.

“About Tory, yeah. But I still don’t know what to do about Sam.” Miguel replied. “I know you said the kiss didn’t mean anything – but I think it did. In fact, I’m sure of it. She was drunk but she still knew who I was and what she was doing. And the fact that she regretted it right away… All I’m saying is that I know for sure that she still has feelings for me. I just don’t know what to do about it.”

Johnny frowned. _Is that even a question? Ofcourse you should go after her. That was the only option here. Sure Cobra-Kai was changing, but it wasn’t changing that much. You still have to be an alpha – to go after what you want. If you like the girl and she likes you…_

And maybe it’d end up being a good thing too – a Cobra dating a Miyagi-Do. Daniel LaRusso could only see them as thugs and bullies because he didn’t actually know any of them. But once he got to know Miguel, once he saw what a good kid he was…

 _And what about Robby?_ The thought came to him, unbidden. _Isn’t this exactly what he was talking about? About you putting your dojo and your students before him? Have you considered how this would affect him?_

“Sensei?” Miguel asked concerned as Johnny was lost in thought.

“I’m trying to figure this out. It’s complicated.” Johnny lied in reply.

The truth was, it wasn’t that complicated. Not where Miguel was concerned anyway. There was only one advice to give him and judging by the way Miguel was looking at him, he already knew what it was. Miguel wasn’t actually there for advice, he was there for permission. For the reassurance that what he wanted to do was the right thing.

And it was the right thing - for him. Johnny believed that with all his heart. If Miguel liked the girl and she liked him back, there was no good reason why he shouldn’t try to win her back. If she didn’t really like him, then he’d fail, but atleast he’d have the comfort of knowing that he had tried.

That was one of Johnny’s greatest regrets with Ali – not trying hard enough. LaRusso had been a rebound after all and Ali had broken up with him a few months later. If Johnny hadn’t been too caught up with his own losses, he might’ve been there and he might’ve won her back instead of losing her all over again to some other guy. Miguel deserved better than to live with regret like that.

Winning the girl in itself wouldn’t matter in the end – the point was for Miguel to know that he shouldn’t give up on the things he wanted. Giving him the wrong advice right now would hurt him. Maybe for life. And there was no way Johnny could betray him like that.

But he had to think of Robby too.

Robby was right – Johnny had put a lot of things before him. Done a lot of shit without considering how it’d affect him. And this? This was going to hurt him.

 _If Miguel is right and Sam doesn’t love him, then it’d hurt him either way,_ a small voice in his head told him. But Johnny forced it down. It wasn’t the same. Without Miguel in the picture, Robby would have a better chance of making it work. And even if they ended things, it’d be better if they did it on their terms instead of because of Miguel. It’d hurt Robby less that way.

But if Miguel went after Sam, then no matter how it played out, Robby would end up getting hurt.

Robby was an insecure kid – you didn’t have to be a genius to see that. That insecurity came with feeling that your parents didn’t care about you and in a large part, Johnny was the reason for that. And he was especially insecure about Miguel – about the kid he felt that Johnny had chosen over him. Johnny himself had lived with that insecurity all his life and he knew very well how much it hurt. It wouldn’t matter if the girl responded to Miguel’s advances. The very fact of it was going to hurt Robby.

But was it really right to deliberately give Miguel advice he didn’t believe in just to spare his own son’s feelings? Just to assuage his own guilt? Miguel would do what he told him – Johnny knew that much for certain. The kid trusted him blindly. Was it really fair to take advantage of that trust?

Robby or Miguel – that’s what it came down to. In the end, he had to choose one of them and no matter who he chose, he’d be hurting the other.

“Sensei?” Miguel asked again.

Johnny took a deep breath, his mind finally made up. Maybe there was no right choice here. Nobody actually knew how things would turn out. But for better or for worse, he had a choice to make and he prayed to God that he was making the right one.

**The End?**

**Author's Note:**

> So? Who should Johnny choose? Robby or Miguel? Should he honor the trust Miguel has placed in him and give him the advice he believes in – even if it ends up hurting Robby? Or should he focus on making things right with Robby even if it means letting Miguel down? What’s the “right” choice here? Answer in comments. 
> 
> The next chapter will depend on whoever has the most of the first fifteen votes. And ofcourse, if there aren’t enough votes, then this is the end.


End file.
